AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Jose Maria Olazabal's victory at the 1999 Masters is often referenced as the last time Augusta National played fast and firm throughout the tournament but the Spaniard believes this year's edition could match it. Despite the heavy rain and lightning on Monday that forced practice to be suspended after just two hours, the heavily contoured layout has since quickened in pace after four successive days of bright sunshine and...

John Simpson, the agent for Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle has denied rumors the two Britons were considering withdrawing from the U.S. golf tour because of the PGA's refusal to ease requirements for foreign golfers. PGA Commissioner Deane Beman had said Faldo and Lyle were believed to be considering quitting the tour because of a decision by the PGA to retain a ruling requiring overseas players to compete in at least 15 events a year in order to keep their membership.

LONDON (Reuters) - Twice major champion Sandy Lyle is hoping world number one Rory McIlroy's decision to switch golf clubs does not result in the same sort of "kamikaze dive" in form that David Duval suffered when he made a similar move. Duval appeared to have the world at his feet when he was flying high at the top of the rankings in 1999 and won the British Open two years later. The American, like 23-year-old Northern Irishman McIlroy, also agreed a switch to Nike clubs...

It turned out to be a beautiful week for the azaleas and dogwoods at Augusta National Golf Club, but not such a wonderful time for the Americans. While many of them talked a better game than they played, protesting about unfair conditions, an unflappable Scotsman had the last say on trickery, skulduggery and related issues. Exactly why Sandy Lyle, the 1988 Masters champion, refrained from criticizing this course and this event is unclear. Perhaps it was his clogged sinuses and...

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Maybe the legend of the Masters Par-3 Jinx is overblown. It's as much a part of Augusta National's lore as the Eisenhower Tree and pimento-cheese sandwiches: No man has won the Masters after capturing the Par-3 Contest four days earlier. Some guys have rinsed a ball at No. 9 just to avoid the burden. The real curse, though, might be found at The Players Championship. Winning the Masters Par-3 simply jeopardizes one's chance of winning a green jacket.

The PGA Tour took the first steps Tuesday toward reducing the number of tournaments foreign players must play to be members of the Tour. In a tournament policy board meeting, a plan originally voted down in 1987 was approved to cut the number of required tournaments to 12. Of those 12, three would come out of a pool of tournaments that need a better field. The policy board accepted the concept and will ratify the specific proposal at a meeting in the fall. The new policy...

When Paul Azinger said his prayers and laid his head down to sleep Friday night, he was leading the Players Championship by one swing after 36 holes. There is reason to believe that his position will not change when he awakens Saturday morning. He will be horizontal, and still in first place. Of course, one never knows. At the Doral Ryder Open a few weeks ago, Azinger was a stroke from the top after his second-round 65 when he was disqualified for taking an indecent liberty during his...

As ever, we arrive at these plush and hallowed acres of Augusta National to chronicle the 53d Masters, commencing Thursday, tornadoes permitting. Being in a service-oriented business of a wager-conscious society, we offer the following tout sheet. Comments are ours, odds courtesy of Coral's betting service in London, where folks always shed a few pounds on golf tournaments of this magnitude. At the first tee . . . Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 8 to 1. Only an occasional visitor to the United...

It's a pity that John Lennon and Paul McCartney hadn`t met L.L. "Johnny" Johnson before they wrote "Penny Lane." Not that it would have changed musical history, but "Magnolia Lane" has a nicer ring to it. Johnson, a native of Litchfield, Ill., is the barber at Augusta National Golf Club, and Magnolia Lane has been his bailiwick for more than 20 years. Johnson, whose shop sits between the pro shop and the locker room at the end of the lane, doesn`t have pictures...

In this leafy suburb of Buffalo, we have the week's second championship fight, Severiano Ballesteros vs. Deane Beman. It is a rematch of heavyweights, but unlike Leonard-Hearns, the chances of its ending in a draw or within an hour are slim and none. Sugar Ray Seve and Battleship Beman have been jousting for years, but they`ve chosen the occasion of this 89th U.S. Open to renew hostilities. Which is just as well. The golf course is called Oak Hill, but conditions and forecasts are...

John Simpson, the agent for Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle has denied rumors the two Britons were considering withdrawing from the U.S. golf tour because of the PGA's refusal to ease requirements for foreign golfers. PGA Commissioner Deane Beman had said Faldo and Lyle were believed to be considering quitting the tour because of a decision by the PGA to retain a ruling requiring overseas players to compete in at least 15 events a year in order to keep their membership.

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Jose Maria Olazabal's victory at the 1999 Masters is often referenced as the last time Augusta National played fast and firm throughout the tournament but the Spaniard believes this year's edition could match it. Despite the heavy rain and lightning on Monday that forced practice to be suspended after just two hours, the heavily contoured layout has since quickened in pace after four successive days of bright sunshine and...

Jack Nicklaus exacted a measure of revenge Wednesday on Tony Jacklin by taking 10 pounds ($17) from the 1969 British Open champion during a practice round. Jacklin had said Tuesday that American golfers couldn`t win here because the Europeans are better But even Nicklaus, who tees off at 7:48 a.m. Thursday in the first round of the British Open, doubted his winnings will amount to much more than that the rest of the week. "I`m not as good a player as I once was, but...

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Maybe the legend of the Masters Par-3 Jinx is overblown. It's as much a part of Augusta National's lore as the Eisenhower Tree and pimento-cheese sandwiches: No man has won the Masters after capturing the Par-3 Contest four days earlier. Some guys have rinsed a ball at No. 9 just to avoid the burden. The real curse, though, might be found at The Players Championship. Winning the Masters Par-3 simply jeopardizes one's chance of winning a green jacket.